News Interest Index: Public Sees More of a Mix of Good and Bad Economic News

After months of bleak economic news, an increasing proportion of Americans now say they are hearing a mix of good and bad economic news, while fewer say they are hearing mostly bad news. As has been the case for the last few months, very few say they are hearing mostly good news about the economy.

Currently, 46% say they are now hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy; somewhat more (51%) say they are hearing mostly bad news. Just 2% say they are hearing mostly positive economic news.

In February, 37% said they were hearing a mix of good and bad economic news, while 60% said they heard mostly negative news. In December, just 19% said they were hearing mixed economic news while about four times as many (80%) said the news they were hearing was mostly bad.

In the latest weekly News Interest Index survey, conducted March 13-16 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, there has been a sharp increase in the proportion of Democrats who say they are hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy. Currently, 55% of Democrats say they are hearing a mix of good and bad news, up from 41% in February. The shift has been less pronounced among Republicans and independents.

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